The present application relates to masking products and methods for use during surface treatments, such as house painting and auto body work, to cover or otherwise protect surface areas where the surface treatment is not wanted. In particular, the application relates to adhesive tape for masking a first area or object during the painting or other surface treatment of a second area or object when a juncture between the first and second areas or objects is curved.
When preparing a structure for a surface treatment, such as painting, a variety of items that are not to be painted must be covered or otherwise protected during the painting operation. Junctures or borders between items to be painted and those to be protected are often curved, such as those bordering lights, door knobs, support beams, shafts and poles, just to name a few. The process of protecting such areas is tedious and time consuming if traditional linear strips of masking tape are used as the tape cannot be easily flexed around a curve. Thus, additional time must be spent applying multiple strips of tape along the curve.
Stretchable plastic tapes have been disclosed in the art for use around curved structures. Such tapes are provided on a traditional tape roll with edges of the tape initially being linear. Such tape is then flexed or stretched about curved objects or areas to be painted or protected. However, such tapes may not stretch an adequate amount about a curved surface, may tear while being stretched, or if strong enough to resist tearing, may not be easily torn or separated manually when being removed from the tape roll or being shortened to a desired size for use. Furthermore, certain plastic tapes are more expensive than the paper-based varieties. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved mask for curved areas that maintains the low cost value and ease of use of paper-based masking tapes.